Montgomery County District Attorney Kevin Steel held a press conference Saturday morning following the announcement of a mistrial in the Bill Cosby sexual assault case. He says they will retry 'as soon as possible.' (June 17)
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Jurors in Bill Cosby's sexual assault trial say they're deadlocked on charges the comedian drugged and molested a woman in 2004, but a judge ordered them to keep trying to reach a unanimous decision. (June 15)
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Bill Cosby's chief accuser and his wife sat feet apart as lawyers delivered closing arguments in his trial on charges he sexually assaulted her at his suburban Philadelphia home in January 2004. (June 12)
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The defense has rested after a single brief witness in Bill Cosby's sexual assault trial. The defense case consisted of a six-minute appearance by a detective. Earlier Cosby arrived with his wife, Camille. (June 12)
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Prosecutors have rested their case in the Bill Cosby trial. They wrapped up Friday afternoon after the jury heard the comedian's decade-old testimony about giving quaaludes to women he wanted to have sex with. (June 9)
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Jurors at Bill Cosby's sexual assault trial have heard excerpts from the comedian's lurid, decade-old deposition, but explosive sections about him obtaining quaaludes and giving them to women before sex are expected Friday. (June 9)
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The jury at Bill Cosby's sexual assault trial heard from Cosby without him actually taking the stand Thursday as prosecutors read into the record his decade-old testimony about what he said were several sexual encounters with Andrea Constand. (June 8)
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The deliberations of a Pittsburgh-area jury, deciding the fate of Philadelphia native Bill Cosby, brought global attention during the past two weeks to Norristown, Pennsylvania.

Less than an hour drive to the south, Delawareans also were drawn into the intrigue of the sexual assault trial, which could have transformed the man once known as America’s dad into a convicted felon.

Cosby faced three counts of aggravated indecent assault, stemming from a 2004 encounter he had with former professional basketball player Andrea Constand.

On Saturday, jurors deliberating for a sixth day announced they were "hopelessly deadlocked," and Montgomery County Court Judge Steven O'Neill declared a mistrial.

District attorney Keven Steele said he intends to try the case again, stating Constand "deserves a verdict."

“We’ll take a hard look at everything involved and then we will retry it. Our plan is to move this case forward as soon as possible,” Steele said to dozens of reporters after the judge declared the mistrial.

Cosby for decades was an icon in Delaware, like in the rest of the country, as the actor and comedian shaped perceptions on race and what it meant to be a good person. Probably best known for the 1980s hit "The Cosby Show," he also created "Fat Albert and the Cosby Kids," an animated series based in part on material from his stand-up comedy, and appeared in many movies.

Andrew Wyatt raises his fist as Bill Cosby exits the Montgomery County Courthouse after a mistrial was declared in Norristown, Pa., Saturday, June 17, 2017. Cosby's trial ended without a verdict after jurors failed to reach a unanimous decision.(Photo: AP)

Cosby visited the First State numerous times to perform and to counsel young people.

The Rev. Derrick Johnson of Wilmington met Cosby, he said, in the early 1990s at a Philadelphia “call out” event – a speaking tour designed by the actor to denounce rising problems of crime, illiteracy and teen pregnancy in America’s cities.

Johnson, who is also known as "Pastor D," said he and Cosby developed a lasting relationship, even as he bristled at aspects of Cosby's message of pulling oneself up by bootstraps because, he said, it overlooked challenges offenders face re-entering society.

Still, Cosby’s role in society gave many black Americans pride, Johnson said.

“He made many of us young blacks feel like we were part of the community,” Johnson said.

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Pastor Derrick Johnson(Photo: JENNIFER CORBETT/THE NEWS JOURNAL)

Over the years, Cosby traveled to Delaware to counsel young people with Johnson. But a half-decade ago, Cosby's star began to fall as sexual assault accusers came forward. Eventually, almost 60 women claimed he drugged and sexually assaulted them.

“Can I be angry with myself over milk that I spilled? I can only be happy with the gift that I have, continue to give and move in the direction that is gift-giving to the people,” he said.

Johnson said he spoke and prayed with Cosby after the flood of allegations were made public. Cosby had asked, Johnson said, “Why is this happening?”

Constand's charge was the only allegation to turn into a criminal case.

Constand, a Canadian citizen, had worked for the Temple University’s women’s basketball team in the early 2000s when she met Cosby, who was a trustee at the university. Immediately, he showed interest in her, calling the decades-younger woman repeatedly and inviting her at least three times to his home in Montgomery County.

In a sworn statement, Cosby said he found Constand attractive and befriended her in order to transform a mentor-based relationship into an intimate one.

One night in early 2004 Constand sought Cosby’s advice, and the actor drugged and sexually assaulted her, she testified last week.

Defense attorneys said Constand and Cosby had developed a romantic relationship. On the early 2004 night in question, they said, he gave her three blue pills, which he called “your friends,” to help her relieve stress.

Cosby has maintained all along that his sexual encounter with Constand that followed was consensual.

Testimony in the case centered on the effects of sedatives Cosby has purchased in the past, specifically Benadryl and quaaludes.

Those accounts have provoked conflicted responses from Johnson. While he felt the charges could simply be an unfounded attack – one that, he said, echoes decades of oppression against black men by the criminal justice system – it also caused him to reach out to a woman he had once connected with Cosby to help her find an acting job.

The Delaware woman, whom Johnson declined to identify – only saying she is “beautiful” – found jobs in commercials with Cosby's help, he said. Cosby had tutored her in "situational acting," he added.

After learning about the charges, Johnson immediately contacted the woman, but she told him her interactions with the famous actor and comedian had been only professional, he said.

Now, Johnson worries Cosby's message that brought feelings of hope and inclusion to marginalized people will be tarnished. It is up to many in the black community to maintain it, he said.

“It’s the message, not the messenger,” Johnson said.

He also doubts Cosby is a sexual predator.

“I did time with serial rapists. I did time with predators of women. They can’t stop,” Johnson said, referring to his time in prison following a conviction of manslaughter, possession of a weapon during a felony and other charges.

Former Gov. Jack Markell pardoned Johnson in 2009, saying the activist and preacher "learned from his behavior and has lived a productive life."

The sentiment that Cosby is being attacked by an unscrupulous district attorney has been voiced outside of the courtroom in Norristown throughout the past two weeks as dozens of protesters displayed signs of support and chanted, "Let Bill go."

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Kevin Steele, Montgomery County district attorney, (center) on Saturday said the Bill Cosby sexual assault case is about evidence and not politics.(Photo: Karl Baker/The News Journal)

Steele on Saturday addressed those critics. “This case is about a drug-facilitated sexual assault, and it doesn’t matter what you look like or who you are,” he said. “Our job is to follow the evidence.”

Cosby's spokesman Andrew Wyatt, who has repeatedly addressed a gaggle of reporters set up outside the courthouse, said on Friday the case should never have been tried because of a lack of evidence.

On Saturday, after O'Neill declared the mistrial, Wyatt said, "Mr. Cosby's power is back."

Yet, for the dozens of women who say they have been drugged and sexually assaulted by Cosby, the allusion that he is a symbol of previous wrongs by a criminal justice system is a dismissal of the serious nature of sex crimes.

Jewel Allison said being a black woman and Cosby accuser makes her a target. But outside the courthouse on Thursday, she confronted a Cosby protester, who held a sign that read, "Stop wasting taxpayer money.”

The protester, Philadelphia resident Zakia Tuck, said Constand had been “caught in a lot of lies.”

“I feel like most of this is speculation,” Tuck said. “Also, the fact that he is a well-known black man, I feel like has a lot to do with this.”

Tuck held her sign, proudly, when Allison grasped her by the hand, amid commotion outside the courthouse that was marked by a drumline performance on the sidewalk below.

A 30-minute speech followed as Allison said Cosby should not be used as a symbol of racism black people have faced.

“Just because he had fortune and fame and celebrity … why should one man determine the safety of innocent black men?” Allison asked, as she squeezed Tuck’s hand. “It’s just a television show!"

There is no need to “cling” to "The Cosby Show" to demonstrate dignity, she continued, “but we need to change our hearts and our minds about how human beings are treated.”

After the announcement of the mistrial Saturday, Allison addressed reporters. Before beginning her statement, she looked down for a moment, tears in her eyes.

“I got to start with talking to the black community: I feel your pain,” she said. “Let’s walk together as one family to solve our differences peacefully.”

Allison's attorney Gloria Allred, who also spoke to the press on Saturday, said her client and other accusers have "taken risks and refused to be silenced." She also had a message for victims of sexual assault.

"I want other people who have been victims to report it to law enforcement," she said. "And to know there can be justice."

Reporting sexual assault crimes in society today is a "brave" act because there are many who doubt vulnerable victims, said YWCA Delaware Chief Executive Officer Stephanie Staats.

The YWCA operates Delaware's Sexual Assault Response Center.

While she declined to comment directly on the Cosby case, Staats said high-profile cases can have an effect on future victims' willingness to report crimes.

"We need to take the stigma away," she said, "and to recognize that this is a public health issue. It should not be kept behind closed doors."

Johnson, reflecting on the case, said he will try to further the conversation about Cosby and assault by traveling to Philadelphia to preach during the upcoming week.

“I’ll be in Philadelphia two times, speaking and praying in the neighborhood (Cosby) came from,” Johnson said.